TheCable

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, has asked the federal government to provide sufficient funding for the reconstruction of the Lagos-Badagry expressway.

Sanwo-Olu spoke on Monday when the house of representatives committee on works led by Abubakar Kabir Abubakar, its chairman, paid him a courtesy visit in Lagos.

He noted that the state government had started constructing a 10-lane highway on the axis and has already done almost 18 kilometers of the road.

“Lagos-Badagry expressway is one that I am aware of that doesn’t have sufficient funding. It is an international gateway. We heard that Ghana, the Republic of Benin and Togo have done their own; it is a trans-West Africa corridor,” he said.

“It has five West African countries passing through. But it is only the Nigerian part of it that has not been fully fixed, which is from Seme border into Lagos and go straight to the port.”

The Lagos governor further appealed to the FG to extend the rehabilitation exercise from Okokomaiko to Badagry due to heavy traffic on the road.

“We have been expecting the federal government and the federal ministry of works to now push it and take it to Badagry,” Sanwo-Olu said.

“Our desire is for them to make it a 10-lane highway. We are building for the future and we have put in a rail in the middle of the corridor. It is an international route and has the capacity to take that level of traffic.”

Sanwo-Olu called for the speedy completion of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, while hoping for an adjoining road that could reduce traffic on Otedola Bridge.

To reduce congestion, he said a lot of clean-up needed to be done on Apapa-Oshodi road, especially around the Tin-Can port and Apapa port area.

On his part, Abubakar, said the house committee on works had reached out to the contractor in charge of the Marine and Eko Bridge and they promised that the project would be completed in four weeks’ time.

Abubakar said the committee was also working on a new project in Lagos – on the Isolo-Mushin road and would ensure the completion of the Ikorodu-Sagamu road before the end of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

“Lagos state is very important and critical to the Nigerian economy. Lagos is important to us and that is why road construction is very critical for Lagos state. We have important roads in Lagos state,” he said.

“The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has directed our committee to give Lagos special attention because of the importance of the state to the federation.

“We have to support the efforts of Lagos state government and federal government in making sure that Lagos has the best roads, so that people will not be stuck in traffic for four to five hours.

“We have to do what we can to make sure that Lagosians have the best roads. We will do our best to make that happen.”